Books about empathy help children to better navigate their world and understand others who are different. These 40 books are appropriate for young children to start learning about this important topic. Not only do the books have messages of empathy, but also teach about kindness, friendship, and compassion.
1. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
Amos is a delightful elephant who is so caring for his animal friends. One day, Amos gets sick and he can't be there for all his friends, but they can be there for him! This book has lessons about friendship and showing empathy for others.
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2. Granny Loves to Dance by Avianti Armand
A granny forgets how to dance and her grandchild wants to help teach her so she remembers. A realistic story about showing empathy to those we love.
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3. When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles by Susanna Leonard Hill
An adorable board book that will help teach little ones empathy. There is an elephant who has the sniffles! How can we help him feel better? Each page goes through ways we can help him feel better.
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4. I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde
A great book for discussions about empathy. It tells about how each of us is not perfect and makes mistakes. And teaches that we can be kind to others...and to ourselves - we all deserve empathy.
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5. The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts
A lovely book with colorful illustrations to teach the meaning of empathy. Sally McCabe is the smallest child in class and most people don't notice her...but she notices everything. One day, she's tired of seeing bullying and decides to stand up.
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6. The Wall by Eve Bunting
A perfect book for learning to show empathy for those who serve. A father and son go to visit the Vietnam Memorial and are told from the son's point of view. It is simply written and will help children to appreciate and empathize with those who served our country.
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7. Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy by Bob Sornson
Understanding how other people feel is an important social skill. This read tells about Emily, who learns that recognizing other people's feelings is important to being a good human being. It will help young readers develop the concept of empathy.
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8. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunts
This book will help children foster empathy for themselves, as well as others. Ally has dyslexia, but she gets around it by tricking others. However, her teacher at a new school realizes what is happening. Ally will learn that differences make us special and that we also need to show ourselves some empathy at times.
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9. We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Penelope Rex struggles with impulse control when it comes to eating humans. Then, one day, the class pet goldfish bites Penelope! She begins to start building empathy and sees that maybe she should not eat her classmates! The book is adorable and funny - a sure hit with kids!
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10. Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour
A beautiful story that exposes children to the refugee crisis while teaching a lesson about kindness. Lubna's best friend is rock. It is all she has. It keeps her happy. But then there is a new kid who arrives. Lubna makes friends with him, Amir...and gives him her most prized possession.
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11. Bernice Gets Carried Away by Hannah E. Harrison
Bernice is having an awful time at the birthday party! In a last-ditch effort to cheer herself up, he decides to take ALL the balloons and floats away! However, this adventure just might teach Bernice how to be a bit more empathetic.
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12. The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee
This book is wonderful for children with "big feelings" - the sensitive kids or those with ASD. It is a rhyming story where all different kinds of feelings are explored! It tackles the idea that we should not bottle up our emotions, but that feelings are normal.
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13. It Will Be OK by Liza Katzenberger
A gentle story of the friendship of Zebra and a very anxious Giraffe. The story teaches that acts of kindness can help our friends and a little empathy goes a long way...even as something as small as just being there.
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14. Happy Grumpy Loved: A Little Book of Feelings by Kanae Sato
A board book that is great for toddlers and introduces empathy and social-emotional vocabulary. The simple illustrations are accompanied by feelings and words.
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15. The Very Very Very Long Dog by Julia Patton
Bartleby is a VERY long pup with a backside that waddles and causes commotions whenever he goes for a walk. After realizing all the havoc he caused, he refuses to ever go on a walk again. But his friends love him and will work to make sure he knows he is loved and special!
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16. The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein
Inspired by a true story, a boy and his father find a whale trapped in a fishing net. The father is more concerned about the net being ruined, but the boy is empathetic and knows the whales' life is important. A beautiful lesson about empathy and about helping those who can't help themselves.
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17. I Am Love by Susan Verde
This book teaches how to show compassion and empathy, not only for others but also for yourself. It follows a little girl who tells the reader about how she shows love. It also has tips and tricks for different self-care strategies for kids.
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18. When Charley Met Emma by Amy Webb
Diversity is what makes this world wonderful! And when Charley meets a girl with a disability, he finds this out. A charming story that teaches that differences are just that, differences.
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19. World of Kindness by Rebecca Bender
A simple book that teaches about the importance of kindness. It gives several different examples of real ways kids can show empathy and kindness paired with cute illustrations.
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20. Stormy: A Story about Finding a Forever Home by Guojing
This beautiful picture book contains no words and is great for examining empathy. A woman finds a line dog at the park, but he is too scared to go there. Showing great empathy and patience, she waits it out, using different tricks to try and help him.
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21. Finding Kindness by Deborah Underwood
Lovely for teaching lessons about kindness within the community. The book simply explains ways that we can show kindness within our own communities. With cute illustrations and realistic examples, it is a great starter book for learning about kindness and empathy.
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22. Maybe Tomorrow by Charolette Agell
Norris and Elba are great friends, but Elba is sad. She carries around a big black block (which represents loss), but Norris wants her to be happy! A great way to introduce students to loss and sadness and also teach about hope, friendship, and empathy.
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23. The Rhino Suit by Colter Jackson
A sensitive little girl just can't bare the pain and sadness of others so she decides to build a rhino suit and hide from the world. The rhino suit is actually representing having "thick skin" and holding back our feelings. But she soon realizes, that hiding away also holds her back from helping.
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24. Let's Have a Dog Party by Michaela Prevost
Kate throws Frank a birthday party, but there is a problem. The party she planned has all of HER favorite things. Poor Frank! The book teaches children about listening to others and empathy.
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25. Muddles and Mo by Nikki Slade Robinson
A story of friendship and differences, we follow Muddle (a duck) and Mo (a goat), on their walk. Muddle, for some reason, thinks Mo is a duck too...and a weird one at that! The book looks at identifying and understanding differences in others in a cute and humorous way.
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26. You, Me and Empathy by Jayneen Sanders
Follow Quinn, a little boy, who goes through his day showing kindness, compassion, and empathy. A nice book for young children at the beginning of their exploration of empathy and understanding.
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27. Mira and the Big Story by Laura Alary
Mira had always been taught that the "enemy village" across the river is strange. However, curiosity gets the best of her and she soon finds out that maybe they aren't so different. A book of differences and kindness towards those who are so.
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28. Understand and Care by Cheri J. Meiners
A child-friendly read on empathy and relating to others' feelings, with simple text and clear images. The book also contains games and discussion questions.
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29. That's Not Funny! by Jeanne Willies
While this book isn't directly about empathy, it teaches children that playing jokes and laughing at others, is not funny. It leads to discussions on empathy and the consequences of our actions.
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30. Panda My Bear by Leigha Huggins
An adorable book for teaching young children about love, friendship, and empathy. A little boy's first friend is his panda bear. It teaches him how to show empathy and compassion for all of his friends regardless of differences.
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31. The Same Inside by Liz Brownlee
This book is a collection of poems that teach not only empathy, but about feelings, bullying, respect, and more. They are great to pair with learning activities for SEL as they cover a range of topics.
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32. Little Bug and the Noisy New Neighbor by Melanie Hawkins
A really wonderful book that teaches about the importance of empathy and differences. A new neighbor is playing loud music and all the bugs tell him about it. This makes the bug sad. Little Bug then steps in to help!
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33. Flip the Fox and His Quest for the Kindness Patch by Sawyer June
Flip is sad so he goes on an adventure to find where happiness grows. On his journey, he meets friends who teach him important lessons about compassion, friendship, and setting boundaries.
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34. The Best Bad Day Ever by Melissa Win
Lucia the llama is having different feelings and she doesn't understand why. To help her, the empathetic Mama Llama helps her determine why she is feeling this way. A great book for understanding feelings of our own, and of others.
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35. The Sea of Stars by Beth Costanzo
A brave sea star admires the shiny stars at night, until a storm hits and he gets stranded on the beach. The sea star is so sad, but on his journey, he still chooses to help others. A book about putting others before yourself.
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36. Sloth Stone by Aaron Chandler
Being kind to others is important, but so is being kind to yourself. Kids will learn about loving one's self and showing empathy through an adorable little sloth who loves all!
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37. Kindness Is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego
Lucas, the character in the book, teaches kids ways to be kind. He also teaches them that they are human and makes mistakes - and it's ok to say sorry!
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38. The Elephant in the Room by Sigal Adler
Eli Gray was born in the zoo but becomes too big to care for. Follow her on an adventure of love and kindness written in rhyme.
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39. Geno Goat Loves to Gloat by Stacey Shaneyfelt
Geno is the grumpiest goat! All the other animals want to socialize and share, but not Geno! All he wants to do is have quiet, not share, and gloat! Until one day when Geno is transformed into a kind and empathetic friend!
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40. A Little Spot of Empathy by Diane Alber
Feelings can be difficult to understand, and understanding other people's feelings is even harder! This book simplifies what's like for children to try and relate to others' feelings.
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